List of United States treaties

This is a list of treaties to which the United States has been a party or which have had direct relevance to U.S. history.

It is a very incomplete list. For an official list, updated at least annually, of U.S. treaties and international agreements currently in force (i.e., excluding those, some of which are included on this page, that are no longer in force, and that are signed but not ratified or otherwise have not yet entered into force), divided between (1) bilateral treaties organized by state and then by topic, and (2) multilateral treaties organized by topic, see the annual State Department publication Treaties in Force.

1855 - Treaty of Detroit (1855) - U. S. and Ottawa and Chippewa Nations of Indians which severed the link between the two Native American groups for further treaty negotiations and prepared the way for allotment of tribal land to individuals.

From 1778 to 1871, the United States government entered into more than 500 treaties with the Native American tribes; all of these treaties have since been violated in some way or outright broken by the US government,[20][21][22][23] while at least one treaty was violated or broken by Native American tribes.[24] However, violations by one party do not nullify the treaties under US law; the treaties still have legal effect today, and Native Americans and First Nations peoples are still fighting for their treaty rights in federal courts and at the United Nations.[21][25]

In addition to treaties, which are ratified by the US Senate and signed by the US President, there were also Acts of Congress and Executive Orders which dealt with land agreements. The U.S. military and representatives of a tribe, or sub unit of a tribe, signed documents which were understood at the time to be treaties, rather than armistices, ceasefires and truces.

The entries from 1784 to 1895 were initially created by information gather by Charles C. Royce[26] and published in the U.S. Serial Set,[27] Number 4015, 56th Congress, 1st Session, in 1899. The purpose of the Schedule of Indian Land Cessions was to indicate the location of each cession by or reservation for the Indian Tribes. Royce's column headings are titled: "Date, Where or how concluded, Reference, Tribe, Description of cession or reservation, historical data and remarks, Designation of cession on map, Number, Location".[28]

Treaty with the Winnebago, etc.; Treaty with the Winnebago Tribe and the United Tribes of Pottawatomie, Chippewa and Ottawa; Articles of agreement with the Winnebagoes, Pottawatimies, Chippewas, and Ottawas

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Treaty-making between various Native American governments and the United States officially concluded on March 3, 1871 with the passing of the United States CodeTitle 25, Chapter 3, Subchapter 1, Section 71 (25 U.S.C.§ 71). Pre-existing treaties were grandfathered, and further agreements were made under domestic law.

^However, not all international agreements are considered to be treaties requiring Senate concurrence. This is explained somewhat in a letter from U.S. Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard to Philippine Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago in connection with the RP-US Vishe other countries, derives from the President's responsibilities for the conduct of foreign relations (Art. II, Sec. 1) and his constitutional powers as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Senate advice and consent is not needed, inter alia, because the VFA and similar agreements neither change US domestic nor require congressional appropriation of funds. It is important to note that only about five percent of the international agreement entered into by the US Governments require Senate advice and consent.". The letter is quoted in full in Footnote 42Archived 2008-06-15 at the Wayback Machine of "G.R. No. 138570. October 10, 2000". Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-28.

^DeLoria, Jr., Vine (2010). Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties: An Indian Declaration of Independence. University of Texas Press. ISBN978-0-292-70754-2. Entire book is dedicated to examining these broken treaties.

^Michno, Gregory (2006). "The Indian Trail of Broken Treaties"(PDF). Wild West. p. 42. The ink, as they say was hardly dry on the treaty, when the signatory Indians rode off to Texas to take more captives.

^Wildenthal, Bryan H. (2003). Native American Sovereignty on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents. ABC-CLIO. p. 122. ISBN1-57607-625-3. The field of Indian law rests mainly on the old treaties.